NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 10 July 1923, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Honouring the Bond: Although the constitutionalists were victorious over the “wild men” at the recent meeting of the British Parliamentary Labour Party, organised Labour in the Old Land has still an ! exceedingly troublesome element to I deal with in the ranks of the industrialists. Thousands of dockers, for oxample, are idle in defiance not of the employers’ demands, but of the terms accepted by the representatives of the men. Recent cable messages report that the strikers show no disposition to obey their executives and accept I lie wages cut, but shipping circles are confident that the dispute will soon be settled. All the trade union leaders insist on the necessity for supporting the dockers’ executive, as otherwise trade unions would be at the mercy of the employers who would bo able !to denounce all agreements cn the ground that the men could not bo trusted to keep their promises. Presumably, the men have become inocuj ] a tod with the vims of direct action, j regardless of the promises given by their leaders. It was in Now Zealand, long before the ICaiser stamped his iron heel upon the scrap of paper which n-avo Belgium her security, that a notorious Labour leader coined the startling phrase: “To hell with agreements.” Doubtless the irresponsible dockers and their sympathisers are careless of their behaviour, but it must be patent to every right-thinking citizen, that the social structure would bo undermined if the men betray their 1 accredited representatives and dis- , honour the bond signed on their behalt. I As the leaders of the dockers contend, I th a fc as there arc two parties to the agreement, both sides should play the. game and honour Iheir bond.

( : Saar Valley Control: Complimentary references are made j,. | ho cable messages Ibis morning to , | ho capable and linn manner in which the Council of I he League of Nations is handling the problem of control m the Saar Valley. The present trouble in the Saar Valley has its root in the | ur l (ha! I he Crouch Slate acquired | hv lie.: Treaty of \ ersailh.'s the abso-

lute ownership of the entire coal mines in the Saar, the majority of which previously beiouged to the Prussian State, in compensation for the mines which had been destroyed in the North of France. The Saar mines produce no less than 9 per cent, of the total coal output of Germany, and are of immense importance to France for her Lorraine iron industry. The Saar territory was placed under the government of the League by the Treaty of Versailles. When the Governing Commission, which consists of five members, including a French president, started its work in 1920, it requested that the French troops should be retained for the purpose of safeguarding the lives and property of the local inhabitants, as well as the French lines of communications to the Rhine. The Treaty prescribes the formation of a police force recruited from the local ’ population. On February 5, the entire personnel of the Saar mines, 73,000 miners in all, came out on strike. The fact that this strike coincided with the passive resistance in the Ruhr gave it something of a political character. The Governing Commission took the occasion of the strike to issue a socalled Emergency Ordinance (Notverordnung) of unexampled severity. Sir John Simon, in the House of Commons on May 1, drew the attention of the Prime Minister, Mr Stanley Baldwin, to certain articles in the ordinance, notably that which establishes heavy fines and penalties, including imprisonment, for criticising the League of Nations or the Treaty of Versailles. But it is not only the League and the Treaty whose persons are thus sacrosanct. Every oificial and employee of the Saar Government from its president, M. Raoult, downward, is invested by this ordinance with so sacred a, character that defamation—that is, criticism —of him becomes an offence punishable with five years’ imprisonment and a fine of. 10,000 francs. Not content with this draconic decree, the commission issued on May 4 a second order forbidding peaceful picketing, a right to which the German worker has been for 40 years entitled.

i - * Romance of the Service: Commenting on the appointment of Mr P. D. N. Verschaffelt to the office of Public Service Commissioner, which it describes as a “romance of. the service,” the service association’s journal says:—“The appointment is gratifying lor two reasons: nrst, because it is concrete evidence of the Government’s desire to reward conspicuous ability and merit; and, second, because we know of no other person better fitted temperamentally and by hard experience to fill this important post. To very few—particularly in the service—do such opportunities for rapid advancement come, but when they came to Mr Verscliaiielt he was able to grasp them and carry out his work with credit both, to himself and to the position. Apart from the question of Mr Verschaffelt’s control, the effects of this appointment will be far reaching throughout the service, as, a direct incentive is given to, energetic and ambitious officers to push ahead, and there is not the slightest doubt that one who has gained such a post by his. own abilities, will ensure that merit in others will be rewarded. Judged by the ordinary service standards, Mr Verschaffelt’s career has been meteoric .... His comparative youth and short service have given rise to some comment that his judgments may be immature, but the experience of the .association has been that 'he will give a fair hearing to every matter brought before him, and is'willing to reopen a question and even reverse his decision if fresh evidence can be adduced. A word of congratulation to the Government in, conclusion. By boldly taking this course, and making the appointment on the grounds of fitness and experience, tlw Government has shown its honest desire to do its best by the service, and has thus retrieved a considerable amount of the prestige that it lost over the salary cuts—particularly the second one.”